How Apps Are Changing the Way We Interact With Technology
Date: 5/24/2018

Most consumers today don’t give a second thought to apps or how they’re impacting their lives. Whether its social media, shopping, games, task managers, or any of the other varieties of applications, people simply use them and then go about their days as if they weren’t a marvel of technology. ComScore has stated that about 57 percent of all digital media usage is done via mobile apps. As well, over half of the time spent consuming digital media is spent just on smartphones.

With our current information and capabilities we’re able to create and share pieces of information that can change lives. Each type of app offers a different way to modify how people view the world, and how they interact with it. By exploring how each category makes a difference in day to day activities, an appreciation for what we have may then lead to an inspiration and desire for greater work, with even more unique and intriguing capabilities.

How do Social Media Apps Change our Daily Lives?

When you think about your day, how it starts, what you do, and how you end your day, you’ll likely find that you regularly interact with people via social media. This, in and of itself, is a miraculous feat that’s often taken for granted. Thanks to the Internet, people are capable of interacting with each other, sharing information, images, making plans, and even working together, even from opposite ends of the earth.

Social media allows for more personal interactions, though grander acts are certainly able to be done via them. How have apps changed this though? Apps in mobile devices have allowed for immediate access to this information. So long as your phone or tablet has a connection to the internet, you can pull up any and all pages, tweets, posts, and messages, from anywhere. This means, in our modern society, we’re capable of being connected and interacting with large numbers of people, presumably people we care for and/or work with, no matter our location or situation. A text meeting could be happening while members are on the road, and at the same time a group of friends could be chatting and sharing fun pictures with each other.

The power of social media can move mountains. Great movements often occur on social media, and through it lives can be changed. Charities will often utilize it, as will businesses. An app allows for more intimate interactions, and more awe inspiring ones. Thanks to social media apps, both groups and individuals can easily take people with them on vacation, into a hospital that needs help, or simply have them along for the ride on a daily grind. Video streaming, image sharing, and text based interactions have been streamlined in these apps, so via your phone or tablet all you have to do is hit record and share. No need to go through extra equipment or programs. News apps have similar advantages, allowing for instant information sharing and feedback.

Do Gaming Apps Really Affect Your Life?

Short answer, yes. Like social media applications, gaming applications that are designed for mobile devices have made a major change in the world we know today. For one, they’ve revolutionized the gaming industry as a whole, forcing companies to look at their games and audiences different. More creativity has been needed to make games work on mobile platforms, as well as to make games designed around the unique properties that a phone or tablet have to offer.

Gaming is a unique platform that allows for interaction between players and game developers. Sure, some games may seem nonsensical, however many are designed with care and intent. A message is on display in every game played, and by having a platform that allows for personal interaction, this message can be amplified for the consumer in a way that no other medium offers.

Movies, TV, and books, for the most part, don’t have interactive pieces to them. Even the few that do still don’t have the same effect as games. A video game allows you to live and experience the world in a particular way, and when you are rewarded or face consequences for particular actions and thought processes you begin to change your worldview, even if only a little.

Now add on mobile gaming and you’ve created a world where these changes can occur during rides to and from school or work. Without a console, computer, or any device other than a smartphone, game developers can reach out to people and share the world with them. Games allow people to experience a bit of the terror or war, the joy and hardship or certain jobs, even just life in a different culture. These aren’t simply visuals or text, they’re actions, actions taken by the player. Gaming apps put these actions at your fingertips, wherever you may be. Your entire view on life can be challenge in a compelling and personal way, even when you’re only on your lunch break.

How have Apps Changed Shopping?

One of the more dangerous, but useful, applications available on your phone are shopping apps. It may be an app for Amazon or Ebay, or it could be one made for your favorite local shop. Whatever store or business you’re working with, you now have access to their information whenever you’d like, though in a more controlled manner.

Shopping apps allow for individuals to check prices, place orders, and make arrangements for pick ups or deliveries, all without having to leave their couch. Families that are always busy now have extra help in planning their day and making their activities more efficient. During travel a parent can now have groceries ordered and gathered together, so rather than shopping through the store they can simply pick up the items in one spot and go.

The other side of this is the issue of control. A business that sells through an app can control information a little easier, and make suggestions to consumers. However, any form of shopping offers various trade offs in this manner. For example, those that shop solely in store and never look at an app may find themselves missing out on great deals and coupons. Many stores have switched to digital coupons in an attempt to go paperless, as well as to force the hand of consumers to use their apps and websites more often. Not only can they make money from the purchases this way, but also from the ads and various convenience fees that may be applied. Of course this isn’t to cause harm, merely a businesses technique that takes advantage of a new situation.

Why Apps that Manage Your day make a Difference.

Alarm clocks, schedules, calendars, notes, reminders, all of these and more are now available as apps. No longer do people have to spend extra money on physical items to manage these tasks, items which can take up space, get lost, or easily break. Now by simply having a smartphone or tablet you can manage your daily life without worry.

Simply starting the day can be a struggle for many people. Being able to customize alarms is important, especially for those that find immunities to traditional alarm clocks. Now by use many free or paid for apps people can use music, traditional noise, voices, and more to wake themselves. As well, for those that don’t feel they can make their phones loud enough, you can use your apps to play these customized alarms through a bluetooth speaker.

Schedules, calendars, notes, reminders, all of these are geared towards managing your day and reminding you of what tasks must be completed. By having apps that manage these things, you can be without fear that you’ll double book yourself, or that you’ll forget to pick up certain items you need from the store. If you simply look at the app best suited to the task you can ensure you’re on track for an efficient and productive day.

Your Apps make a Difference.

Over 100 Billion apps are downloaded annually, and Statista predicts that by 2022 that number will be over 200 billion. To say that people are interested in and utilizing a number of different applications would only be scratching at the surface.

Our world is changing, growing, and the technology involved in our lives is ever increasing. Mobile apps have become a vital part of our day to day lives, and that change can be for the better. The connection, the information, the convenience, and the fun are all impossible to ignore. Now people from India, Russia, America, and Brazil can all play the same game together from their phones. A mother can shop for groceries on her bus ride home from work in the city. People who wish to learn new languages can do so through apps, including gaming apps.

To ignore the difference that these apps make would be a loss for both individuals and for society as a whole. Apps can become personal, and their convenience means a higher likelihood of regular usage. By understand and utilizing them, we can affect our world, for the better.